Beiyang reactionaries

Duan Xun was very unwilling to contact the Japanese, and he didn't want to be different in front of the Japanese, so he behaved carelessly, just like those warlords who came out of the army.

Tsuruta Tatsuya had been smiling since he came in, and when he heard Duan Xun being so straightforward, he immediately said, "General Duan, then I'll be straight. We know that the general dislikes the low export prices of bristles and tung oil in Sichuan, and is currently following up with Duan Xun. Negotiations with foreign firms."

"Yes. I need money now, but these foreign companies are too deceitful. I have learned that our export price is several times different from the international market price."

Duan Xun showed indignation.

Although there is an element of acting, Duan Xun is indeed angry.The prices at home and abroad vary greatly, even several times at the highest point, and the profits of those foreign firms in the middle are too high.So Duan Xun has asked them that the export price must be increased by 70.00% on the basis of the current price, otherwise Sichuan will strictly control the export volume of local products such as pig bristles and tung oil.

"General, what do you think if we raise the price by 50.00%?"

"50.00%?"

"Yes."

"Our requirement is a 70.00% increase."

"General, since it is a negotiation, it will definitely not follow the general's wishes. And if the general continues to forcefully control the export of these materials, it will lead to a serious shortage of these materials in the international market. Pressure. Not to mention the generals, the Beijing government will also get their protests. Can the generals stand this kind of pressure? This business is handed over to us, the generals make money, we also make money, and the international market will not It’s going to be out of stock, it’s the best of both worlds.”

Duan Xun nodded.

In fact, 50.00% is not an unacceptable condition for Duan Xun.In the past, many people directly bought and sold these things with foreign businessmen without going through the government, and some people even did these transactions directly in Sichuan under the banner of foreign businessmen.As a result, the government can't collect anything from the middle, and it's not even easy to collect taxes.

There is no tax, and the tariff does not belong to the Sichuan government.Therefore, although Sichuan's local products are in full swing, the benefits to Sichuan's finances are very limited.However, since Duan Xun began to supervise these markets, this channel was directly cut off, and the government's tax revenue was greatly increased.Moreover, the increase in export volume will also bring high profits to Duan Xun.Because the government not only collects taxes, but also personally participates in these transactions.

But of course Duan Xun would not agree so simply.

Therefore, he said: "Mr. Tsuruta, anyway, all I want is money. I will do business with anyone who can make money for me. It is not impossible to give it to you. But I am short of money now, and I am even more short of ammunition. If the Japanese army If Fang can give me a batch of arms on credit, then everything can be discussed."

"arms?"

Tsuruta Tatsuya was taken aback for a moment, but soon smiled again.The relationship between Japan and the Beiyang Army is very deep. From Li Hongzhang back then to Yuan Shikai later, until now Duan Qirui has a deep relationship with Japan.

This can be seen from the development of the Beiyang Army.Among the weapons of the Beiyang Army, a large part is Japanese weapons.Among the advisers of the Beiyang Army, more than half are advisers sent by the Japanese military.Among the officers of the Beiyang Army, many of them are graduates of the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy.

Then there are the schools run by the Beiyang Army. From military academies to patrol schools and law and politics schools, a large majority of teachers are Japanese, and most of them are teachers who have returned from studying in Japan.

Japan's influence in the Beiyang Army is very large.

Among the current Beiyang Army, Wu Peifu, Duan Xun, Feng Yuxiang, and Sun Chuanfang are all rising stars of the Beiyang Army. They all have their own unique features in running the army, and they are all different from the old Beiyang Army bosses.

However, in Tsuruta Tatsuya, judging from this contact, although Duan Xun is a little different, he can't escape the warlord's routine.What is still needed is arms, what is still needed is to expand the strength of one's own army.In the current local warlords in China, the most important thing is arms, that is, the army.

I thought it would be different, but now it looks the same.

"Yes. Some time ago, the expansion of the army was a little faster. I was seriously short of weapons and ammunition, and I lacked heavy weapons. If your country can give me a batch of munitions within three months, then this matter is easy to discuss."

"How much ammunition does the general want?"

"[-] rifles, [-] heavy machine guns, [-] cannons, and the necessary ammunition. And I don't have any money now, I hope your country can give me credit. As long as the Japanese government can guarantee to send me within three months Let’s get these weapons, let’s not talk about this year’s cooperation, I can give you five years of cooperation. Moreover, we in Sichuan are currently planning to build a railway between Chengdu and Chongqing, and we are a little tight, so we can also borrow from Japanese banks.”

The ammunition Duan Xun wants is not too small, but not too much.

As far as China is concerned, there are definitely a lot of such arms, and it is completely possible to form three divisions.But for an industrial country like Japan, the little arms that Duan Xun wanted were nothing more than a drizzle.Although Japan's industry is not as good as that of Europe and the United States, its industrial strength must not be underestimated.Don't say that what you want is only [-] rifles, even if you want [-] rifles, Japan can easily get it for you.

Therefore, Duan Xun didn't want many arms, and Tsuruta Tatsuya could easily agree to it himself.Anyway, as long as you give money, Japan doesn't care who it sells to.Moreover, Duan Xun is a general of the Anhui Department of the Beiyang Army, and he was originally an ally of Japan in China.

What Tsuruta Tatsuya cares about is what Duan Xun said later.It is definitely a very good deal for Japan to be able to win the right to sell Sichuan bristles and tung oil, which are in short supply.After a good operation, the profit for a year can be tens of millions.More importantly, if the bristles and tung oil in Sichuan are really controlled, then Japan will greatly increase its confidence when negotiating with Britain, France, and the United States.

Especially tung oil.

At present, most of the world's tung oil comes from China, and most of China's tung oil comes from Sichuan.And 70.00% of the world's tung oil is purchased by the United States, and the United States has the highest demand for tung oil in the world.As long as Japan controls the barrel oil market, it can bargain with its deadly rival, the United States.

Of course, Tsuruta Tatsuya is also very interested in what follows.Although it is difficult for Sichuan to get Japan to build the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, the Japanese government is very willing to borrow money from Japan for this railway.

You can extend your hand into Sichuan, a southwestern province, by lending money to the Sichuan government.This has always been the territory of the British, and it happens to increase Japan's influence now that the United Kingdom cannot take care of the Far East.

So after thinking for a while, he said, "Okay, General Duan. I'll help you solve the ammunition problem. Then..."

"As long as my people pick up the goods in Shanghai, the contract can be signed immediately."

"Yes. General Duan, I can assure you that your people will be able to receive the goods you want in Shanghai within one month, at most one month. General Duan, I hope that we will not forget our promise when the time comes."

"Of course. As long as my people receive what I need in Shanghai, we will sign the contract right away."

Duan Xun nodded.

As long as Japan provides arms, Duan Xun does not care about cooperating with Japan in this transaction.Regardless of who he is working with, all Duan Xun wants is money.

…………

"Is this going to be okay?"

"It's nothing."

After seeing off Tsuruta Tatsuya, Duan Xun and Jiang Hongyu met again.Although Jiang Hongyu has been sitting in Chongqing during this time, he has not entered the power center in Chengdu.But in Duan Xun's team, he is an out-and-out boss.Not only is he serving as the vice governor of Sichuan, but also because he was born in the army, he is very familiar with the generals of the army.And the relationship with Duan Xun is also very close.

"Brother Jing'an, you also know some things. In fact, people like me, to put it bluntly, are currently warlords who rule a place with the help of the army. Now the world is changing, and wars will soon be fought. At this time, there is nothing more important than arms. For good things, there is no more reliable force than the army. But now that there is a war in Europe, the European powers don’t have to think about it. The United States is too far away, and Japan is the most suitable one. At this stage, only the Japanese can provide us with a large amount of arms.”

"Then you really want to borrow from Japan?"

"When there is really no way, it's not impossible."

warlord.

Regardless of how the warlords were whitewashed in the history of later generations, to be honest, those warlords in the Republic of China could be said to be "traitors" seriously.Because the warlords of the Republic of China, as long as they can gain a foothold, have foreign support behind them.

If you have no money, you can borrow from foreign countries, and if you have no weapons, you can buy foreign weapons.

But why do these foreign countries support you?

In order to gain the support of foreign countries, these warlords will more or less sell the sovereignty of the country within the scope of their own rule.Either mining rights, or road rights, or suppression of national capitalists to make room for foreign businessmen.Anything you do is not a glorious thing if you investigate carefully.

Say nothing else.

Zhang Zuolin, who was whitewashed every day by later generations.When he was in the Northeast, in order to get the support of Japan, he did not know how many rights and interests in the Northeast he sold.Various industries in the Northeast have been infiltrated by Japanese forces, and even the Northeast Army itself has been infiltrated into a sieve by the Japanese military.There is also Duan Qirui, who is considered to be of good conduct, who also sold an unknown number of mining rights and road rights for borrowing.

In fact, that's what happened.

If you don't sell something, foreign countries won't get any benefits, so why should they support you.To put it bluntly, this is a warlord.For them, selling sovereignty, being able to get loans, and being able to get arms is a very good deal.

The same is true of Duan Xun now.

Duan Xun's position is also a warlord.In order to get money and arms, Duan Xun could only give in and sell something.The market can be opened up to allow Japanese goods to come in, and Japanese companies can be supported to do business in Sichuan.

If anyone can win in the end and wash away these shames, then he is a hero, and later generations will say that he endured the humiliation and endured the humiliation.If you fail to win and take back the power you betrayed, you will be scolded as a "traitor".

"That's right. After I leave, you can discuss it with the business group in Chongqing. See if anyone here is willing to invest in the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway."